Shadows moved eerily until they revealed four small figures emerging from the darkness of the forest. Wrapped in long shawls, they made their way across the meadow to stand over Benedek’s body. One at the head, one at the foot and one on either side.
Silke’s breath caught in her throat. She caught at Benedek’s wrist, holding it tightly in excitement. “Those women arewitte wieven.” She whispered the information to him as if the women could overhear her and not that all of this had taken place long ago in Benedek’s past.
“They are healers, medicine women,” she continued. “They know all the natural plants to aid in healing, but you must have known that to summon them. They’re living spirits who walk among us, and they can be anywhere, in any country.”
She studied the one at Benedek’s head. She looked familiar, which was impossible unless Silke was putting her own impressions on the women. It was dark, and the gray clouds kept shifting, moving shadows over the scene so it appeared hazy.
Already the badgers had lowered the body into the ground by several feet. The four women ignored the digging animals as well as thesprays of dirt, and all managed to get into what was now a deep hole. The healing chant was soft, voices raised to the heavens and back down to Mother Earth, filling the air, yet so low it was impossible to make out the actual words.
Silke had heard them many times. She had stood beside Fenja when her mother was working on an impossible injury. She had learned that healing chant as they applied the necessary medication to wounds.
“They are also seers. Some say they can see into the future.”
“What do you think?”
“Fenja can, and I am certain she iswitte wieven.Many villagers consult her on planting crops, fishing, even marriage.”
His chin moved in the top of her hair, sending little currents of electricity sparkling through her. “She knows who will be successful and who will not?”
She had a feeling she knew where he was going with his questions. “Yes.”
“Did she weigh in on our union?”
“She sat with me during the negotiations,” Silke said. “I wouldn’t have been there if she didn’t think you were suitable for me. She would have spirited me away.”
“Even when there are demons invading your village?”
“Yes.” It was the truth. Fenja would have found a way to persuade her to leave if she didn’t think Benedek would make her a good match.
His chin rubbed again along the top of her head. “I’m grateful Fenja thinks I’m worthy of you.”
Despite the gravity of the situation, a small wave of laughter slid through Silke. “I doubt she thinks anyone is worthy of me, although if she saw this”—she gestured with one finger toward the women, badgers and Benedek—“that might make you a shoo-in.”
One by one the women knelt beside Benedek’s head and gently placed their wrists over his mouth.
Again, her breath caught in her throat. “They were so brave. They had to know you were starving. It was so dangerous to supply you withblood when you were vulnerable and could have been out of control with pain.”
“I was in control,” Benedek assured. His breath was warm on the side of her neck. Right over her pounding pulse. She was very aware of him, goose bumps rising on her skin.
Movement from the meadow brought her attention back to the frantically digging badgers. She had no idea how the women would get out of that hole. It was a good six feet deep and they were still descending.
Silke studied the four women. Each wore a distinctive shawl. The woman who had been on Benedek’s left side had a shawl that was woven with a grayish ombré hand-dyed yarn. The colors blended into the night and shadows quite easily. This time her heart jumped. She’d seen that shawl on many occasions. Fenja had tucked it around her when she was a mere toddler. She had asked Fenja to borrow it when she went out late at night to visit an ailing child because the warmth and comfort of that lightweight shawl were incomparable.
Silke had never asked Fenja where she got the shawl. She’d always had it, and Silke took it for granted. If she had thought about it, she assumed Fenja had made it. The shawl was very distinctive, and she doubted if there could be two of them. Was this woman an ancestor of Fenja? She shared her thoughts with Benedek.
“Do you think it is possible?”
Benedek hesitated. “It is possible. The spirits of wise women sometimes remain to walk the earth and aid others. I know that to be true. It is possible Fenja is one of these women. Tell me about her.”
“She’s an incredible healer. There is not one single plant that we’ve come across that she isn’t familiar with. She knows how to use them and what each is good for.”
“She never married.”
“No, she said she had the calling and it was important. A husband would demand her time, and she didn’t have it to give.”
His arms tightened around her. “Did she teach you everything she knows about plants and healing?”
“Yes, of course. I’m her daughter. I may not be her blood, but I’m her daughter. She’s the only mother I’ve ever known. She was generous teaching me.”
